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Herpes Infection

 

 

I talk a lot about herpes viruses.  

This seems to cause some discomfort in people, as if the viruses are indicative of some kind of personal hygiene failure.

They are viruses.   They don't care.  They infect whatever viable cells they run into.

 

Yes the open sores are repulsive.  Yes you can get them in annoying and embarrassing locations.  Unfortunately, if I'm right, the lesions are one of the least troubling aspects of herpes viruses.  

 

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The herpes virus lives in your nerve cells.   It starts by infecting your nose and mouth.  The shed viruses then travel in saliva and nasal secretions down through the stomach and intestines where they infect the nerve cells there. 

 

Once in the nerve cells the viruses go dormant for a while. 

When they reactivate they spread by cell to cell transmission backwards towards the spinal cord and brain.

From the nose and mouth, the viruses can get to the cranial nerves and brainstem. 

From the stomach, the viruses infect the vagus nerve complex.  

From the intestines, the viruses can infect the orexin cells directly.

 

Meanwhile-  You are allergic to gluten and eating wheat every day and making all kinds of antibodies to attack it.  They circulate throughout your body but they're attracted to your mouth and intestines because that's where the gluten is.   Zombies happen to have a type of gluten antibody that also sticks to a protein produced inside nerve cells (Synapsin I) and clogs them up.

 

Ordinarily it's kind of hard for the antibodies to get inside the cells though.

 

Unfortunately- Here's the catch-

If those nerve cells are infected with a herpes virus, they produce receptors which capture antibodies and suck them into the cell where they can clog things up easily.    

Herpes viruses have a defensive mechanism by which they induce the infected cells to trap the circulating IgG antibodies that are deployed to eradicate them.  This prevents the antibody from initiating a secondary immune response.  They direct the infected cell to produce cell membrane receptors which bind to the antibody.  After it is bound  it starts a process of cellular internalization.  The antibody is engulfed by the cell membrane and transported and released into the cell (endocytosis).  Under normal circumstances it would then be broken down and repackaged by lysosomes.  

This process is effective for neutralizing attacks of anti-herpes antibodies, however since it is not specific it can also bind to and internalize most other IgG antibodies.   If there are zombie antibodies circulating in the bloodstream, they too will be internalized and be released into the axon fiber of the neuron.  This is in close proximity to the neurotransmitter transport system where they would be able to bind to Synapsin 1.  

By escorting antibodies into the cell- Herpes viruses may facilitate a complete shutdown of the neurotransmitter transport system.

 
 

 

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Herpes viruses have a lot of serious long term effects.  Like dementia.

 

 

 

 

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